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Griffin: Morrow fans 10 as Jays reach halfway point on high note

Right-hander Brandon Morrow struck out 10 Pirates, tying his season high, as the Jays beat Pittsburgh 2-1 Wednesday for a split of the first two games of the interleague series.

Jays Starter Brandon Morrow pitches in the early going during the game between the Toronto and the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Rogers Centre on Wednesday. (DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

The first half of the major-league schedule ended in upbeat fashion for the Jays on Wednesday at the Rogers Centre, as they defeated the surprising Pirates — a team that has not finished above .500 since Barry Bonds’ final season in the Steel City in 1992 when they lost in the NLCS to the Braves, who went on to face the Jays in the Fall Classic.

The Jays are on pace for 80 wins this year, after recording 85 a year ago. One reason for the downturn in wins may be the drop in home run production.

At the halfway point this year, the Jays have hammered 92 homers. A year ago, they led the majors with 257 round-trippers. But the Jays have a higher batting average and a higher walk total than a year ago, so that substantial drop in the long ball — if projected over a full season — would result in just 23 fewer runs. Not a huge difference.

Manager John Farrell assessed his team’s performance through the first half of his rookie season.

“We come to play every night,” Farrell began. “There’s only been a handful of games where we were flat. I think we’ve showed a lot of resiliency and an attitude that carries over every night, right to the 27th out.

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“We’ve dealt with some challenges along the way, but more than anything, guys like one another in the clubhouse and they like to come out and play and compete.”

As far as pitching is concerned, the Jays are on pace to win five fewer games, but with a slightly lower team ERA than a year ago. The Jays have been struggling in close games, with a 21-24 record in contests decided by two runs or less.

By far the most inexplicable mark, however, is the 10-21 record in day games. Following the win over the Pirates, the Jays are 7-7 in interleague play.

From an individual standpoint, Jose Bautista — the major-league leader in all-star votes, — stands to dominate the Jays in all major offensive categories. His half-season totals project to a .328 average, 122 runs, 48 homers and 104 RBIs. He also stands to draw 134 walks, including 28 intentional. On the pitching side, Ricky Romero is on pace to win 14 games and strike out 192 batters in 223 1/3 innings.

But on Wednesday it was Brandon Morrow’s turn to take to the mound in search of his fourth win. Against the Pirates, the 26-year-old right-hander posted his third straight quality start, all of which have come against the National League.

In seven innings, Morrow fanned 10 Pirates to tie his season-high, set on April 23 against the Rays, his first start off of the DL. He of the electric stuff had made three solid starts in a row, allowing just four earned runs with 25 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings, going 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA.

“I think my fastball command has been my biggest thing,” Morrow said of his resurgence. “The two-seamer has really come around for me. It’s been good, a change of speed from my four-seam, get a little movement, get some ground balls. I didn’t throw too many other things than fastball, slider today, but I had the velocity, two-seam, four-seam and I had the slider to both sides of the plate.”

The Pirates took a brief lead in the fifth on an RBI single by shortstop Ronny Cedeno, scoring Lyle Overbay, who had singled. It looked as though the Jays might escape trouble that inning after the newly installed third baseman, Bautista, charged a grounder and nailed Neil Walker at the plate on a nice tag by Jose Molina. But Cedeno followed with the hit to give the Bucs the lead.

An inning later, rookie Eric Thames, batting second in the order even against the left-hander Paul Maholm, sliced a deep drive to left centre field that barely cleared the wall for his first major-league home run, tying the game. The lefty-swinging right fielder sprinted around the bases.

“I kind of did a little inner fist-pump,” Thames explained. “I’m glad it tied the score and got Brandon back in the game. I’ve been taught to play the game hard and run hard all the time. Maybe when I’m a veteran, I’ll hit a ball and watch it and trot, but as of now, I’ll keep running.”

The winning run came in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar. Davis ripped his second double of the game, a one-hopper over the fence in left-centre. Escobar grounded a hot shot under the shortstop’s glove to cash him with the go-ahead run.

Jason Frasor came on to pitch the eighth. For the diminutive right-hander it was his 446th appearance in a Jays uniform, tying him with Tom Henke for second place on the Jays’ all-time list.

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